In a statement and through company associates, Miramax said Mr. Lombardo filled a useful role while heading Miramax Italy, acting as a handler for talent during shoots in Italy of movies like "Gangs of New York," starting a film distribution operation, helping negotiate production space and the collection of overdue payments, overseeing development deals with Italian directors, and organizing Italian publicity tours for stars like Rachael Leigh Cook, Matt Damon and Russell Crowe. He also arranged the introduction of Miramax to financiers of a computer animation company called Wild Brain, based in San Francisco, which resulted in a co-production deal and gave Miramax the right to acquire a stake in Wild Brain.